Improvement in railroad-telegraph alarms



G. NATOHER.

TELEGRAPHIG ALARM FOR RAILROADS; No. 79,915; Patented July 14, 1868.

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Lena-8 Patent 1V0. 79,915, dated July 14, 1868.

IMPROVEMENT IN RAILROAD-TELEGRAPH ALARMS.

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TO" WHOM' lT'iMAY CONCERN:

Be it known' that I, GABRIEL NATGHER, of Sidney, Shelby county, Ohio, have invented a new and-useful Telegraph- Alarm fortRailroads; and I hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same,.referencc being bad to the accompanying drawings, making part of this specification.

I My invention relates to a reliable and effectual method of preventing collisions on railroads having only a single track, and I accomplish this desirable object by compelling each train to give notice of its progress by sounding an alarm on suitable gongs of bells, both in front and rear of the train; said gongs being placed from two to five hundred yards apart alongthe entire track, and, as they are struck by electrical apparatusoperated by the train alone, there can be no false alarm given, and the lives of the passengers are notjeopardized by depending upon the conductors, hrakesmen, or other 'attaehs of the road.

In the accompanying drawings- Figure 1 represents asection of a railroad provided with my improved telegraphic alarm.

Figure 2 is a'transrerse section taken at one of the eonductors alarm-boxes, the last view being drawn on an enlarged scale. 7 i

A represents a railroad-track connecting two stations, and these stations are furnished with galvanic batteries, 13 C, which supply the proper amount of electricity for operating the apparatus.

The batteries are connected by the wire D, which is supported upon poles E, the latter being placed alongside the railroad, and from two to five hundred yards apart, as may be found necessary.

Thepoles, E, are provided with conductors signal-bones, F, and gongs, bells, lights, or other alarmap'paratus, G; said gongs being struck at the proper moment by the hammers H, whicharc operated by suitable mechanism within thoboxes F.

Communication between-the batteries B C and the striking-apparatus contained in the boxes F is effected in thefoll'owing manner: i I

A pit, I, is sunk in the ground between each post and the track, and these pits. contain lover s, J, having upwardly-projecting tappcts K K, the one, K, which is situated just inside onset the tracks, being protected by a springguard, L, one end of which is fastenedtu a cross-tie at Z, andthe other end plays within the staple Z.

he levcrJ-is pivoted at m to a hanger, hi, and that end of the lever which projects towards the track is maintained in an elevated position by-the springN, which is snfiiciently powerful to prevent the lever being accidentally depressed by an animal or any person walking along the track, and yet said spring will yield readily whenever the wheels of thelocomotives or cars come in contact with the guard L or tappet K. I

The tappet K is prevented from protruding too far above the road-bed by means of a stop, n, which limits the return of the levd'r' J after it has been depressedbythewhcels of the train.

Placed vertically above the tappets K are rods, 0, whose upper ends communicate with the strikingappziratus in the conductors alarm-boxes F, and the lower ends of these rods are distant from .said tappets aboutonc-quartcr of an inch.

Pfis an.indicator,or annunciator, whose dial-plate has markedupon it the numerals 1, 2, 3, &c., which correspond .with the number of stations on the entire length of the road, and the degrees which are placed between the numbers indicate the signal-boxesbehrecn the stations. i

,R is anindepondent wire, which may be used for the ordinary business of the road, and also for the purpose of lighting and extinguishing lamps, whenever the train enters or departs from a tunnel; the current of electricity which lights and extinguishes said lamps being automatically turned on and shut off at the proper i moment by actionot' the car-wheels, or any p'art of the train, in the same manner that the gangs are struck,

which operation will now be described.

'lhe'clcctr icai current between the batteries B and C at the stations is supposed to he closed, and the train S is approaching in the direction indicated by the red arrow, and it will bc seen that 'the moment the wheels of the cars strike the guard L, it will yield, thereby depressing the tappet K, and elevating the one, K, so as to bring the latter in contact with the rod 0. As soon as the tappet K strikes the red 0, it raises it a suificient distance within the signal-boxes F, so as to break or open the current of electricity, which liberates the strikingapparatus contained within said boxes, and the hammers H strike all the gongs between the two stations, and this action of said hammers occurs as rapidly as every wheel in the train strikes the tappet K.

When the train arrives at the next postfwhich is provided with an alarm-apparatus,-the above-described operation of ringing the gongs is repeated, and it will be seen that, by this arrangement, the approaching train is made to sound a. continuous alarm in advance and rear of itself, thus giving an unmistakable warning to any train which might be approaching from either direction.

The trainnot only sounds the gongs whenever it passes one of the posts having signal-boxes, but it also compels the hand on the indicator P to move one degree, by which means the attendantsat the stations are enabled to know the exact location of the't-rain.

The operation oti ringing the hells has been described as effected by the car-wheels acting on the tappcts, but it is erident that said tappets may be struck by any suitable projections on the top, bottom, or sides of the cars or locomotives.

In case an accident should happen to any portion of the train, the condnctor will proceed to the nearest signal-box, and, by unlocking said box, and making a connection between the wires and his pocket-instrument, he can telegraph to both stations for assistance, and also indicate the exact point where thc' accident has occurred.

The boxes F being furnished with any approved form of electro-magnet and accessories, such as are commonly employed for giving signals, require no specific description here.

The operating-lever Jhas been described as acted upon by a spring, 1*, but the spring may be omitted. and a weight substituted for it, or a self-acting, gravitating lever may be employed, without either spring or weight.

I claim herein as new, and of my .invention 1. A telegraphic alarm for railroads, which is capable of indicating at each station the progress of the train along the track, and also of giving a suitable alarm along the entire track, both in front and rear of said train, by means of the signal-boxes ll, gongs G, hanimers H, levers J, tappcts K K, and rods 0, or their mechanical equivalents, the whole being arranged and operating substantially as herein described, and for the purpose set forth. 1

2. In combination with the elements F, G, H, J, K, K, and O of the preceding clause, I claim the springguard L, for the object set forth.

3. In combination with the elements F, G, H, J, K, K, and O of the first clause, I also claim the indicator P, for the purpose herein described.

In testimony of which invention, I hereunto set my hand.

GABRIEL NATOHEB.

Witnesses G-Eo. H. Knrenr, JAMns- H. LAYMAN. Y i 

